Francesco I Gonzaga
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Francesco I Gonzaga (1366 – March 7, 1407) was ruler of Mantua from 1382 to 1407. He was also a condottiero.
Succeeded to his father in 1382, he led a policy of balance between the nearby powers of the Visconti of Milan and Venice. In 1380 he had married Agnese, daughter of Barnabò Visconti. When she was executed in 1391, under the accuse of adultery, Francesco switched his allegiance to Venice, also to protect his land from the increasing power of Gian Galeazzo Visconti.
In 1393 he remarried to Margherita Malatesta, who carried in the Gonzaga family the hereditary illness of osteomalacia, which appeared peridiocally in Mantua's rulers until the 16th century. Francesco had subsequently to defend his lands from Gian Galeazzo's assault, but the latter's death in 1401 solved the conflict.
Francesco Gonzaga is remembered as the builder of the Castle of San Giorgio, nucleus of Ducal Palace of Mantua, the Gothic façade of the city cathedral, the bell tower of the Basilica of Sant'Andrea, as well as the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie at Curtatone.
| Preceded by Ludovico I |
Marquess of Mantua 1382–1407 |
Succeeded by Gianfrancesco I |
